'Caesar's Heirs' is the first full-length English-language military history in recent times of the wars that wracked Rome from the assassination of Caesar to the Battle of Actium. Volume I, 'Wolves in the Forum' covers events down to the defeat of the last Republicans at Philippi. It is the story of how ruthless warlords gambled everything and broke every rule in their quest for power. The book describes and analyses the objectives, strategies and forces of such figures as the rakish and implacable Mark Antony, the sinister and brilliant Octavian, Brutus, Cassius and Lepidus. Battles, from the Alps to Syria and across the Mediterranean Sea are described in great detail. Characters such as Cleopatra of Egypt and the doomed orator Cicero also appear in the story. The book is as accessible to the reader with a general interest in ancient and military history as to the specialist. It draws on extensive research, a detailed understanding of the original sources in Latin and Greek and knowledge of the ground where many of these remarkable events took place. The book is written in a crisp, compelling style, with incidental insights into matters such as Roman food, sex and wine, as well as the great generals and battles of the time. AUTHOR: John Bassett was educated at Bristol Grammar School, Oxford University and the University of the West of England. From 1991 until 2010 he worked for GCHQ in a variety of operational postings at home and overseas. He is currently Associate Fellow for Cyber-Security at the Royal United Services Institute in Whitehall. He was awarded an OBE in 2003. This, John's first book, is the product of more than thirty years' interest in Roman military history, and the wars of Octavian and Mark Antony in particular. SELLING POINTS: ? Opening part of the first modern full length treatment in English devoted to the civil wars triggered by the assassination of Julius Caesar ? Crisp narrative and excellent analysis of the dramatic events that killed off the old Roman republic ? Full of household names including Julius Caesar, Mark Antony, Brutus, Octavian and Cicero 8 pages of b/w plates and 8 maps
